When preparing your house for sale, the most important thing to remember is that it is no longer yours. Like a child off for a job interview, its success will depend not on your affection for it but upon its ability to appear desirable. Although presentation -- called "staging" by professionals -- is a bit of an art, there are methods a seller can use to give a house an edge. First, fix everything that is broken, and clean everything that is dirty. Home buyers are a skittish lot. A single imperfection -- a sticking basement door, a stained rug -- portends countless unseen others. Clean the walls and carpets, dust everywhere, fix every leak and squeak, power wash the walkways, keep the lawn mowed, and replace the bulbs. And when you are done, do it again. You will have missed something. Once the house is clean, the staging can begin. The trick is to make the house feel "livable" without feeling "lived in." It is common to think that a personal flourish will make the buyer feel at home, but it is more likely to make them feel as if they are making themselves at home -- that is, in someone else's house. So, remove anything that suggests a specific family: pictures of relatives, homely kindergarten pottery, refrigerator magnets, or height notches on the kitchen doorway. Take the books off the shelves and put the toys away. If you have too many things you are not ready to part with, rent a storage unit. You will get back what you spend. Next, get rid of excess furniture. The less full a room is, the bigger it will feel. (Only architects actually think in square feet. For most of us size is subjective.) Leave just enough to suggest the room's function -- a dining room table, or a couch and a coffee table, a bed and a toy chest. (Never leave a room, even a closet, entirely empty.) Here is where the true art begins. To each of these idealized spaces you will want to add a few touches. The idea is that you are trying to "fill" a room with as little as possible. This might seem paradoxical, but therein lies the art. A bowl of fruit on the kitchen counter can help create a mood. Clean, matching towels and a fresh bar of soap in a nice dish can make a bathroom. A study might benefit from a elegant pen laid across a plain black notebook. Or, it might not. The line between clutter and art, personal and universal, is often fuzzy. If you are a decorating ditz, you can find a professional stager in the phone book, but don't forget that you have handy an experimental test case -- yourself. Unless you are planning to tour the country in an RV, you are likely also a buyer. Pay attention to what attracts and repel you, and apply what you learn. The difference between a good and a great presentation will ultimately translate into a higher price.